"You go first," Noah told Lillian once they were off the lorry on pack land.

Lillian led the wolves into the infirmary. Most of their tension and wariness had evaporated the second they set foot on pack land; the fresh air of the morning woods, the wet, cold grass under their feet and the feeling of pack magic close by, born of countless pack members in close proximity, settled their wolves.

"What the hell happened?" Sean asked, watching with raised brows as the haggard men and women followed Lillian like chicks following their mother.

"Long story," Noah replied. "Make sure there are warriors posted inside and outside the infirmary."

"Alright," Sean nodded, wrinkling his nose. "Although they look too wiped out to try anything. I can smell the silver from here."

Noah sighed, relieved the night had ended without a major glitch. After a peek in the infirmary showing Lillian, Ava and other pack mates fluttering from bed to bed and caring for the wolves, Noah went back to his house, cleaned up and met Sean in his home office where he told him everything.

It was a relief most of the kidnapped females were alive. But there were still many questions in need of answers. So when he got a call from Harvey asking if he wanted to be present during the interrogations, Noah immediately agreed.

But first, he had something to do.

His argument with Lillian had left a bad taste in his mouth. His insides were twisted up in knots, and it only got worse when she rarely met his eyes during the ride here.

Noah went to the infirmary, hoping to have a word with her.

The warriors stationed outside the door nodded at him, Noah made a mental note to have a pack meeting as soon as possible to inform his wolves of what had happened. The good news would surely lift the pack's spirits.

The beds in the infirmary were mostly occupied. IVs were hooked to the wolves' arms. Noah breathed through his mouth. The open window did very little to air out the stench of silver and body odor.

Their bodies were gaunt and beaten, but their complexion had regained a healthy flush of color. The shower was running. The wolves would no doubt take turns cleaning themselves.

Noah spotted Lillian immediately, slumped asleep in a chair. She had changed into a sweatshirt and pants. The wig gone, her brown hair fell down her shoulders. The bruises around her neck and wrists glared at him, accusing.

His wolf wanted to pick her up, take her to his den and lick up all her wounds. But Noah knew he couldn't. He didn't have the right, not with how things stood between them at the moment.

Noah's steps didn't disturb the still infirmary, but more than one wolf opened their eyes and followed his movements. He stopped right beside Lillian's chair, his hand twitching with the urge to make her comfortable.

He finally noticed why she slept on the chair instead of one of the empty beds. The female, who had been clinging to her the whole night, was laying on the bed. Her hand clutched Lillian's even in her deep sleep.

Noah smelled Eva coming inside.

"She's very attached to Lillian," the pack doctor mind-linked him. She checked the small female's IV. The young wolf had showered, and with her hair no longer hiding her face, she looked so young. Barely a teen. "How in the world did she get a bunch of unknown, injured wolves to trust her?"

"I don't know. I wasn't there," Noah said, but he had every intention to find out.

Eva turned to check on the other patients. Noah couldn't resist anymore, he raised his hand and skimmed his knuckles across the warm flush on Lillian's cheek, wishing he could do more.

When he walked out of the infirmary, the sky had brightened. The early morning sun spilled through the trees, heralding a new day. He left the warriors around the infirmary with instructions to warn him of anything odd before he shifted to his fur. The feeling was pure exhilaration, only marred by the dull ache in his chest. His wolf ran toward Benjamin's territory, stretching his legs as fast as he could.

A howl built up in his throat, and he stopped for a moment to let it out, craning his neck skyward. Responding howls filled the woods. The echoing sound accompanied him the rest of the way.

*** *** ***

The sun shone bright and strong, its warm fingers touching even the darkest nooks of the forest. Benjamin met Noah halfway and escorted him to the exact location. They reached the place by the time the grass was dry from last night's rain.

The cells holding their prisoners were located on neutral territory, a few miles east of Benjamin's land. The building, situated deep into the woods, belonged to Arthur. Tucked between tall fir trees, the one story stone building had seen better days. The windows were broken, the walls overtook by ivy.

Just one of many of Arthur's dungeons, Noah was sure. He wondered what Elle would say if she found out about it.

Noah smelled vampires around, guards who stayed out of sight. Harvey waited for them at the door. He threw them two black basketball shorts when they shifted back to their skin.

"We got all the big heads in here," Harvey said as they pulled on the shorts. "The other patrons are mostly small fry. They're privy to nothing."

"You let them go?" Benjamin asked.

"Of course not." Harvey chuckled. "They're still under lock, just not here."

The inside of the building belonged to one of those horror movies humans loved so much. Humans were so naive in that respect, they had no idea what true horror was like.

The hallways were dark, spiders webbed every corner and dust coated every surface. They passed abandoned rooms by, not stopping until Harvey led the two alphas down a flight of stairs. There was barely a flicker of light, but there was no need for it. Vampires and wolves could see well enough in the dark, wolves more so than vampires.

The basement reminded Noah of the cells the kidnapped females had been stocked in. Dark brick walls, even darker metallic doors, and blood tang spicing up the air. A taste of their own medicine.

The three men stopped by an open door. The vampire Noah recognized as Galvin was chained to a chair in the middle of the dark cell.

Four vampires clad in black occupied the four corners, on guard. While Arthur, his clothes and hair as proper and clean as they'd been last night stood to the side of Galvin, hands casually in his pockets, and eyes blacker than darkness itself.

Noah leaned on the wall by the door and crossed his arms.

"You silvered him?" Benjamin asked Harvey, joining Noah.

Harvey nodded. "All of them. We can't have them accessing their magic."

"I have to say Galvin, your recent activities are very bad for our reputation," Arthur said, his tone conversational. "A reputation we took so many centuries to build."

"What reputation?" Galvin hissed. Sweat clung to his forehead. "Vampires have gone from the race ruling the world to one that is simply surviving on the scraps left behind-"

Galvin words cut off with an abrupt grunt of pain, his face contorting in agony. Arthur sighed and moved around the vampire. Noah felt a chill run down his spine.

"That was not a question, Galvin," Arthur mumbled. "You speak when I ask you to. Understood?"

When Galvin didn't answer, Arthur cocked his head to the side and flicked his fingers. Galvin's right eye tore out of its socket and dropped to the dirty floor. Screams echoed around the walls. Benjamin shifted next to Noah.

"Did you know he could do this shit?" Benjamin mind-linked Noah.

"Yes. He seems to have an unhealthy obsession with eyes."

Noah was still shocked by Arthur's powers. Six months ago, when he'd accompanied Arthur and his mate to Ireland, Noah had witnessed the extent of Arthur's abilities. The vampire lord's magic manifested mainly as telekinetic energy. His control over that massive amount of magic scared even Noah.

"Arthur lost his arm six months ago," Noah told Benjamin. "From the shoulder down. It was cut off."

Benjamin stared at Noah with wide eyes. Realization hitting him. Immortals could grow missed body parts, but the painful process took time and energy. If Noah lost his arm, the limb wouldn't grow back over the course of two years, at the very least.

"Damn. Remind me why we chose to be in a dark cell with the man again?" Benjamin said, only half joking.

"Do you understand, Galvin?" Arthur said, brushing inexistent lint from his t-shirt.

Galvin's nod was jerky. Blood dripped down his face and neck, darkening his white shirt. "Yes."

"Good." Arthur smiled, a quirk of his lips that never reached his eyes.

He resumed his stalking around Galvin. "Now, what was I saying? Ah, yes. Your very scandalous activities have displeased me greatly. We've allied ourselves with wolves and witches. It is true that the alliances are shaky at best, but still, what you did? Kidnapping and torturing wolves?"

Arthur shook his head and clicked his tongue.

He crouched in front of Galvin whose empty eye socket had stopped bleeding already. "What I want to know is this: how? how did you get the wolves? Now, I know that the ones you kept stacked in one pit are mostly lone wolves you've picked up here and there, wolves whose disappearance wouldn't be noticed by many. But the pack females? How and why?"

And so Galvin talked.

"Witches, mostly," Galvin said, his voice hoarse. "Some have access to pack land on a regular basis. Katrina knew the ones who could be bought, we got the information from them. They indicated the victims, time and place. Patrol schedules are easy to come by once you're inside the pack."

Traitors. Noah would like nothing more than to wring those witches' necks. Like most werewolves, he valued loyalty above all else.

"How did you get past patrol?" Benjamin asked.

Galvin snarled at him. Arthur stopped walking and put his hand on the back of Galvin's chair. Galvin's mouth gaped open, his pulse skittering in his neck. He struggled, unable to draw breath.

Suffocation wouldn't kill a vampire, and losing air for some time would only make one of Galvin's age pass out. Which meant Arthur was doing much worse than cutting his air supply at the moment.

"If you don't answer the gentleman's questions, your lungs will be mush in a second," Arthur said, touching his fingers to Galvin's neck. The latter jumped. "Or maybe you'd rather I bring out someone who could riffle through your head?"

Drawing breath like a drowning man, Galvin shook his head, a crazed look in his remaining eye.

"It was easy," Galvin said, out of breath. "We just used the dust."

"What dust?" Harvey asked.

Noah had thought Galvin was the highest, most powerful figure in the operation. He was wrong. Galvin's next information was nothing they could have guessed.

Galvin licked his lip, his eyes continuously flickered to Noah and Benjamin's necks. "A special blend. We got our vampires to bathe in it, and it got rid of their scents for a small window of time. It was all we needed to sneak past the borders. You can't put wolves over every inch of your pack bounds, and without scents, patrols are useless."

It grated on Noah's nerves, but Galvin was right. If there was a way to hide scents, they would have to rethink their whole security system.

"How did you get this dust?" Noah asked.

Galvin shook his head as if to clear it. "Delivered. It was delivered to me in my place in France."

"By who?" Harvey asked.

Galvin opened his mouth. His face twisted in pain.

"Galvin," Arthur warned.

"I can't!" Galvin said, his breathing grew labored. "I can't tell you about- I can't even if I want to!"

"And why is that?" Arthur asked.

"I'm hexed."

Arthur and Harvey shared a sharp look. Noah straightened from the wall.

A mental hex. The last time they heard about such a thing was six months ago.

If this mess was linked to the gate scheme, then this went deeper than any of them could have predicted.

"You're not lying to me, are you, Galvin?" Arthur said softly.

"No, I'm not. I have no reason to protect-" Galvin's words cut off. He exhaled sharply, wiping his face on his shoulder.

"How did they know about this? About your readiness to use the dust, and why give it to you in the first place?"

"That person knew I was running clubs in the US," Galvin said, his voice strained. "I guess he had a thing for wolves."

"Wait, how long have you been doing this?" Benjamin asked.

Galvin's smile was deranged and proud. "For a long, long time. But I never touched pack wolves, I knew they were a high risk. I only went for lone wolves who loved to roam. Wolves no one would miss."

"Why did the person give you the dust?" Harvey asked. "Just because they liked you?"

"The person wanted unmated females." Galvin shrugged. "I don't know what for. He provided the dust, I had the manpower and the contacts to make it happen."

"What did he do with the females?" Benjamin asked.

"I don't know and I don't give a fuck." Galvin sneered. "You wolves can all burn."

"What do you have against wolves?" Noah asked.

A venomous snarl. "They took my mate. They ripped her apart until nothing was left."

Galvin's eye flickered all around the place, as if seeing a reality other than theirs. "There was blood, her blood, so much blood all over... she was ripped to shreds, the only thing they left untouched was her head and her heart.... her heart....it was still beating..."

Galvin rocked back and forth, his words a gurgling nonsense. Noah felt a hint of pity for the vampire, one that quickly vanished. Losing one's mate was a devastating affair for most immortals. But letting grief turn him into a despicable, vile being wasn't justified. Noah had lived the effects of that first hand.

Noah would sooner kill himself rather than point his grief and anger outward.

Arthur straightened, flicked his wrist and Galvin's head lolled to the side, limp. He was unconscious.

"He's done for the night," Arthur said. "Once he starts talking about his mate, he's gone. We'll see if he has more to add once he's more lucid."

"I didn't know he had a mate," Benjamin said.

"It was centuries ago," Harvey said. "Long before the current alliances were forged. His mate was killed by a couple of rogues. I always thought he was doing rather well for someone who had lost a mate, but I guess we weren't seeing everything."

Arthur shook his head, his dark eyes on the unconscious man. "I should've known."

"It's a done deal," Harvey said. "Nothing we can do about it now."

"Let's pay Katrina a visit," Noah said. Benjamin grinned as they walked out, his eyes going wolf for a flashing moment.

"I wonder what she'll have to say for herself," Benjamin said. "That witch is one of the most self-righteous people I've ever met."

Arthur smiled. "That she is."

Katrina's cell was a couple of doors down from Galvin's. The witch was sitting erect in the chair, bound by silver. Sweat gleamed on the honey brown of her skin, blue eyes slitted with fury.

"You have no right to detain me here," she said as soon as the vampire guarding the door opened up. "I didn't agree to be imprisoned. You'll regret this, my coven will not be pleased when they find out about this."

"Oh, I'm sure they won't be pleased," Harvey said with a smile, hands in pockets, "when they find out about your extracurricular activities."

The witch's eyes gleamed an intense blue for a fraction of a second before they dulled back to normal. The silver in her system disallowing her use of magic.

"Tell us, Katrina," Arthur said. "Who else knew about this? I assume you're not the only high caliber witch involved."

Chin lifted, Katrina looked straight ahead. "I will not talk until someone of my coven is informed that I'm here."

Arthur leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "The stage is yours. I already had my fun."

Benjamin chuckled and stepped forward. "I think you've been watching too many human movies. That was not a request, we won't wait for anything or anyone, and we certainly don't give a damn what you think you have the right to."

He crouched in front of her. "You're involved in kidnapping and torturing at least thirty wolves, and the murder of at least one that we know of. If you think your people will be able to get you out of this, you're delusional. You hurt wolves. The wolves will be the ones questioning you. So talk before I let my wolf out at you, he never liked you anyway."

Benjamin's last words were almost an intelligible growl. Katrina must have seen the promise of torture in his eyes because the smell of fear reeking off her made Noah curl his nose.

"Galvin mentioned some sort of special dust," Noah asked. "Some sort of magic that can hide scents. What do you know about it?"

Katrina's eyes followed Benjamin's movements as he moved slowly around her. "Nothing much, just that it smells of blood magic."

"You've seen it?" Benjamin asked. Katrina nodded.

"You still have some? Where can we find it?"

Katrina looked back at Noah. "I don't have it, Galvin got a limited amount each time we had to take a girl, just enough for a couple of his men to make the abduction undetected."

"Do you know why he chose unmated females?" Benjamin asked.

Katrina licked her lips. "Galvin has been dealing only with lone wolves for so long, but a few months ago he was contacted by someone requesting his own play toys."

Noah and Benjamin's growls filled the cell. Katrina stiffened. "Anyway, the person said they want unmated female wolves. My guess is mated females would've been too much a risk with the mating bond in place.

"The man, at least I think he's a man, was willing to offer whatever Galvin wanted. I don't know what Galvin asked for in exchange, but that vampire is halfway crazy, he would have done it just for the challenge and the thrill of infiltrating a pack of wolves."

Katrina's tone was filled with derision and anger when she spoke of Galvin.

"And you hate that he accepted the man's offer, don't you?" Noah asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Of course I do," Katrina spat out. "We were doing perfectly well with the lone wolves. But no, that old bastard just had to go and get packs involved. Galvin was becoming jaded in the last decade, and recently he's been getting reckless. That's why we got caught, he got careless with security."

"This person you're talking about," Benjamin said, "the one who prefers female wolves."

"I have no idea who he or she is."

"But they must have visited the club, since they're the one who demanded the female wolves in the first place," Noah asked.

"He did," Katrina said. "But I don't know who he is. Galvin arranged the visits in private. Only Galvin knows the details. Good luck with that. Galvin can't talk about the man."

"What do you mean, can't talk about him?"

"I tried to get him to tell me who the man is, but he said he couldn't. It's not that he didn't want to, it's that he literally can't." Katrina said with a raised brow. "It is probably a hex."

"Do you keep a list of clients?" Noah asked.

"No," Katrina said, sounding tired. "We keep track of all the humans, but the immortals come to us expecting privacy. That's why we have no cameras, no entry lists of guests, no record of who was in or out."

"What about the invitations?" Noah asked. "Humans are the only ones who can get in without invitations."

Katrina's laugh was chalky. "Again, good luck with Galvin. Only he knows. He's the one who distributes the invitation. He gets them printed then personally fills in the names. No one else knows who gets in or out except for him."

"The bouncer?" Benjamin asked the men.

Harvey shook his head. "Already had a word with him. He knows nothing."

Katrina groaned. "I told you all I know, everything else falls under Galvin's jurisdiction."

Harvey walked slowly toward the chair. "I find it hard to believe a person like you would give full authority to someone else. Don't tell me you know nothing else, Katrina, you like to be on top of things."

Katrina chuckled, a devious glint chasing the exhaustion from her eyes. "You would know, wouldn't you, Harvey? That I like to be on top."

Harvey rolled his eyes. For a fleeting, amused second, Noah wondered what Amanda would do if she was present. Noah knew that Harvey had had an on and off relationship with Katrina for decades before he met Amanda.

"How is your mate doing?" Katrina asked. "What's her name again...oh, right, Amanda. Lovely woman."

Harvey's eyes turned cold, as cold as his smile. "Yes, Amanda. She's doing perfectly fine, thank you. In fact, she's doing much better than you are at the moment. Katrina, let's not play games. We all know you're trying to pass off as a simple partner who had no knowledge of the ploy as a whole, but it's all a load of crap. Galvin already told us the witches have helped score out the females in the packs."

Katrina's eyes flickered away, she stayed silent.

"Katrina, I know you have the information," Arthur said, straightening from the wall. "You can give it now, or we can wait until we get all the alphas in here."

Katrina went rigid, her breathing ragged as Arthur continued speaking in a calm, even tone. "You can't," she said. "I deserve a fair trial."

Arthur smiled. "Oh, really? And who will stop me?"

Katrina didn't reply.

"I'm sure the alphas would want to be part of the questioning process. In fact, I have a feeling they would quite enjoy it," he continued. "You've breached their borders, forsook the sanctity of their lands. The witches violated the confidentiality agreement by using information they found on pack land to harm them. And let's not forget that you kidnapped members of their packs, tortured them for days, weeks, kept them locked up, and who knows what else."

Arthur chuckled, stopping in front of Katrina who was nearly hyperventilating at this point. "Oh, I'm sure the wolves will love to make you talk. And I would enjoy the show. So please, do keep quiet."

Katrina's breathing was loud enough for Noah to hear the rattle in her chest, her heart bursting out of its cage.

"Or maybe you want me to personally extract the information?" Arthur asked. "I'm sure the alphas will understand if I have some fun first."

Katrina's head snapped up, horror in her eyes. She closed them tightly and spoke. "Galvin is right. The witches helped."

Benjamin and Noah growled. Most packs had spells cast on their borders. Spells that confused human technology, and made it hard, even impossible, for satellites, spying robots and the like to function on their lands. Working and maintaining such spells usually took days.

"It was easy to come by patrol schedules, they're usually announced in the pack house or at a public space in the pack village. And unmated females are easy to spot if you spend enough time in the pack."

"The witches were from your coven?" Noah asked.

Her eyes opened. "Yes, but not just ours. There are other covens involved."

They had to be careful here. Katrina was spiteful enough to give them names of people she had a personal vendetta against or simply didn't like, people who had nothing to do with this scheme. They would have to verify everything that came out of her mouth.

"The heads of the covens knew about this?" Harvey asked, outraged. Katrina's lips thinned, lines on her sweaty forehead.

"Are the heads involved, Katrina?" Benjamin repeated, his voice a whip.

"Some, okay?" Katrina gulped. "Not all of them."

"Names," Harvey said. "Now."

Name after name spilled out of Katrina's chapped lips, when she was finished Arthur gave her a chilling look. "I'm not going to find out you've kept any names a secret, will I, Katrina?"

"No," Katrina licked her lips. "Those are all the ones I'm aware of. The covens involved are mostly new or small covens, Galvin lured them with promises of more power. Ours is the only high profile coven involved."

"What about the packs that didn't have witches to introduce a victim?" Benjamin said. "There hasn't been a coven witch in my pack for several years. How the hell did you know when and where my wolves would be? And how did you get the female out even with two warrior males with her?"

"I don't know all the details of every operation-"

Benjamin's growl shook the wall, he got in Katrina's face. "How?"

"I really don't know!" Katrina protested, her voice hoarse. "Galvin organized everything, he called the witches whenever he needed our help, but other than that I wasn't privy to all operations."

She hesitated. Benjamin grabbed her neck, his claws puncturing her skin.

"Okay, okay. I heard some whispers about inside informants," she said. "So you better look into your own packs."

Benjamin removed his hand as if the witch's skin burned him, and looked at Noah, a promise of death and retribution in eyes gone wolf. Betrayal was one of the worst sins one could commit in their world.

"What about the rogue attacks?" Noah asked. "Are they connected to you?"

"What rogues?" Katrina asked, a frown twisting her features. She shook her head. "Look, I told you everything I'm aware of. Galvin was autocratic. He didn't like to share power, he didn't like to share details about important operations or his other allies. So I doubt anyone else would know the answers to all your questions. Galvin is the key."

Noah knew she was trying to redirect their attention somewhere else.

She was tired, the silver was slowly taking over her system. But she also seemed honest. She didn't know much past the things she'd disclosed. Or did she?

Noah heard the clicking of heels down the stairs. Harvey closed his eyes tightly and faced his head upward as if requesting heavenly aid. Arthur's lips quirked up in real amusement.

Amanda's smell got closer.

"Katrina, I swear to God..." Harvey said, looking down at Katrina in warning.

The bound witch looked lost for a moment before her eyes caught Amanda's form in the doorway, and she smiled.

"Well, hello there, Amanda," Katrina said, licking her lips. "Harvey and I were just reminiscing about our old memories together."

Amanda rolled her eyes as she walked in and leaned on the wall next to Noah, a data pad in hand. "Anything useful?"

"Yes," Arthur replied.

"What? No witty response?" Katrina said, her head cocked to the side. "I must say, I'm sorely disappointed."

"Katrina, you're tied up to a chair, reeking of silver. I don't think I need to provide a witty reply. Your situation is funny in itself."

"Alright, let's wrap up-"

Harvey was interrupted by Katrina, whose eyes regained some of their characteristic deviousness. "Does he still make that adorable noise when you lick right behind his ear?. You know, that spot used to drive him crazy-"

Harvey's snarl was vicious, his fangs elongating. Katrina shut up, her lips thinned, but her eyes were satisfied.

Amanda sighed heavily, shaking her head. "A shame, you've become so petty, Katrina."

Benjamin and Noah looked around awkwardly.

The blonde vampire then looked at Noah. "Noah. A minute, please? I need to show you something."

"Of course." Noah cleared his throat. He caught Benjamin biting back a smile at Harvey's exasperated face.

"Someone is sleeping on the couch tonight."

Benjamin's mental whisper was light with amusement. Noah followed Amanda up the stairs and into one of the rooms. She closed the door when they got in and fiddled with the data pad. The empty room smelled of mold and dust, a web of ivy covered the window from the outside, preventing light from spilling inside.

Although her expression remained neutral, Amanda's eyes were flashing red back and forth. Noah shifted on his feet.

"You okay?" Noah asked, his wolf wary of the signs of female rage he had learned over the years by watching his brother's mate, Eva.

"Yeah," Amanda replied with a grin. Her fangs gleamed. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Uh...no, nothing." Noah said, tucking his hands in his pockets. Amanda's grin widened as she nodded, and went back to looking at the datapad.

"Anyway, this is the footage of Lillian's cameras, when she was locked in with the wolves. I know you're all wondering how she got them to calm down when they were all half crazy."

Amanda handed him the device, her features solemn. "I think you should see this."

--- ---- ---

Hey guys! A long chapter this time. How did you like it? 

Don't forget to vote and comment. Thank you for reading!

Much love <3

M.B.